Trump names Pam Bondi as new AG pick after controversial first choice Matt Gaetz withdraws

Donald Trump has announced that former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi will be nominated as his US attorney general, after controversial first pick Matt Gaetz dramatically withdrew from the role.

“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again,” Trump wrote in a statement on Thursday evening.

“I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”

Gaetz reacted to the choice on X by calling her “a stellar selection” as well as “a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all Americans”.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was even more effusive, posting: “Well done, Mr President. Picking Pam Bondi for Attorney General is a grand slam, touchdown, hole in one, ace, hat trick, slam dunk, Olympic gold medal pick. She will be confirmed quickly because she deserves to be confirmed quickly.”

Trump’s latest nomination comes shortly after former Florida congressman Gaetz announced he would no longer be accepting the nomination, following backlash on both sides of the political aisle. Gaetz has previously faced allegations of sex trafficking a minor, though he has denied the accusations and has not been charged with a crime.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on X earlier on Thursday.

“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General.”

The President is likely to view his choice for AG and the Department of Justice as the vehicle for “retribution” and “vengeance” he vowed against his political enemies.

Bondi, 59, serves as the chair of a legal arm of America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned group that has drafted policy recommendations for the next administration, and she has joined Trump in his contempt for special counsel Jack Smith and his investigations into the former president’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election and his possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

She has also supported Trump’s spurious attempts to reverse his election loss in 2020, falsely alleging mass voter fraud in states he lost.

In his post on Thursday night, the president-elect waxed lyrical about Bondi’s resumé.

“Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families,” he wrote.

“Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country.

“She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!”

In addition, Bondi served as one of Trump’s attorneys in his first impeachment, where she amplified allegations that Joe Biden and his son Hunter were embroiled in corruption in Ukraine, fuelling Republican-led inquiries into the president that Trump’s incoming administration is expected to revive.

In 2013 she declined to join the attorney general of New York in a class action lawsuit against Trump University.

It later emerged that the Donald Trump Foundation had made a $25,000 donation to Bondi’s re-election campaign days after her spokeswoman announced that she was looking at Trump University following a number of complaints in Florida about the institution.

Bondi denied that the donation had any bearing on her decision not to join the case against Trump University. The case accused the university of illegal business practices. Trump finally settled three lawsuits for $25m.

She was also a lead attorney in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to strike down the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act, and later joined 19 other Republican state attorneys general to overturn the ACA’s ban on health insurance companies denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions.